Morris Hatalsky

Started playing golf at age 10 after his brother gave him a set of clubs. at 17 won the Mexico National Junior champion and in 1969, was the San Diego High School golfer of the Year. When he turned pro in 1973 it took him five Q-schools before he got his card. During his first full year on Tour in 1977, he finished second to Dave Eichelberger in the Greater Milwaukee Open. Even though his next year was a disaster (finished 114th on the money list) he went to Ken Venturi for help. Venturi changed the fundamental of his swing and his thoughts about how to play the game and it paid off with a victory in the 1981 Hall of Fame Classic on the famed No. 2 course at Pinehurst. Two years later in the 1983 Greater Milwaukee Open, he visited the winner's circle again, beating George Cadle in a playoff. Also in 1983, he led the PGA Tour putting category. Hatalsky experienced five years without a win, until he beat Tom Kite in a playoff at the Kemper Open and then went into a tailspin, dropping to 149th on the money list in 1989. On the verge of retiring from golf he won the 1990 Bank of Boston Classic. He birdied three of the last four holes at the Pleasant Valley C.C. for a one-stroke win of Scott Verplank . . Played on the PGA Tour between 1976 & 2001 in 489 tournaments. Along with his four wins, he has 32 Top-10 finishes.